Newsletter #434 (View other news stories)
Injury worries in transport and storage
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Thursday, 29 Oct 2009
Safe Work Australia (SWA) has released six new industry-specific reports based on an analysis of the 2005/06 work-related injuries survey conducted by the ABS.
Of the 460,000 workers within the transport and storage industry, around 40,000 experienced a work-related injury.
Among the key findings for the transport and storage industry:
• Transport and storage industry workers experienced 86 injuries per 1,000 workers in 2005/6, which was 25% higher than the rate for all Australian workers of 69 injuries per 1,000 workers.
• Four in 10 injuries required no time off work.
• Nearly one in three workers in the transport and storage industry worked
under shift arrangements. These workers experienced 125 injuries per 1,000 shiftworkers compared to 71 injuries per 1,000 non-shiftworkers.
• Sprains and strains accounted for one in three injuries.
• Lifting, pushing or pulling objects was the main cause of injury in one in three injuries.
The report concluded that the transport and storage industry employs a lot more workers under shift arrangements than the Australian workforce as a whole, with shiftworkers recording a much higher rate of injury than other workers in this industry.
Three-quarters of workers in the transport and storage industry were male
and recorded an incidence rate of injury considerably higher than male
workers in the full workforce.
Of particular concern is that workers aged 35 to 44 years in this industry have a much greater risk of injury than those in the full Australian workforce, recording an injury rate 75% higher than similar aged workers in the Australian workforce as a whole.
However, while the injury rate is considerably higher than the Australian rate, the severity of the injury, as measured by time lost from work, was similar to the Australian profile.
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